Packing a Suitcase For Heaven

Cast your burden on the Lord , and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.
Psalms 55:22 ESV

Some burdens feel like an overweight suitcase dragging behind us as we run through the airport of life.  But God promises us that if we ask Him, He will carry it for us. In God’s calendar He has marked a day for our departure from our planet and like every other trip we must pack our suitcases. We have a close friend who has traveled so often that he joked that he could pack for overseas in 15 minutes. The reason for his boast was that he had learned the secret not only of what to bring, but also what to leave behind. When we pack for heaven that is doubly true. First be sure to include lots of mercy. Mercy takes up almost no space at all and considering how often we mess up here on earth I need plenty! 

Second be sure to include the portion of faith that God has given you. Remember that in heaven we will still walk by faith because even after we see His face we still need to trust in His goodness. And don’t forget to stuff in so much love, joy and praise that you may need to sit on your suitcase to get it closed. The way to have enough room for all these is learning what to leave behind. The first thing to take out is bitterness because it will make our luggage way too heavy. And as you are tossing that out you can put complaining back on the shelf as well. God won’t be interested to hear from us about our brother or sisters faults. He will instead show us how much it cost Him to forgive ours. God is so good and any day one of us will stand before Him. What we choose to pack or not pack for our most important journey will stay with us forever. Be sure to travel light!

 

 

Treasures

I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.  Psalms 27:13

I dreamed I stood at heaven’s door

And heard its hinges creak

Around its frame a light shone out

As it opened for the King

“What have you brought?” He began to ask

“From your time on earth now through”

I wasn’t sure what I could say

I knew it had to be the truth

So I talked about my mission’s trips

And how each day I prayed

And how I often read His word

And all the tithes I gave

When I finally stopped to take a breath

He smiled and gently said

“Those were not really from your heart

They were just rituals instead”

“But the forgiveness you gave your parents

When their divorce left you alone

And the love you shared with strangers

When you opened up your home

And sorrowful repentant tears

And confessions in the night

Those are the things I treasure most

And are precious in my sight!”

gold beaded necklaces on gold jewelry box

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Preparing a Home for Jesus

Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him; and he with Me. Revelation 3:20 ESV

When we Christians think of heaven we generally focus on how Jesus has a place prepared for us there. But heaven is not just some geographical place we go to live; it is God coming to live with us. So how can we prepare a place for Him? The good news is that we can’t; but Jesus can!

Now it isn’t exactly like what happened when we had some remodeling done in our kitchen but it does share some certain points. First; we needed to realize that the repairs needed were more than we could handle. That is what Jesus meant when He said, “If any man hears my voice and opens the door.”

KIMG1580Our job was to open the door when our contractors showed up. Imagine if instead of letting the kitchen installers in, we just started hammering away ourselves. That is what we do when we leave Jesus outside our door. He has everything necessary to remodel our hearts but first we have to let Him in.

 

On the other hand; unlike our project; Jesus doesn’t just plan on showing up, doing his work and going home. Jesus said that He wanted to come in, sit down and stay. His plan begins by demolishing our old life along with our sins on the cross. Then He follows up with all the changes and new materials needed being installed through His resurrection. When He has finished His job we will discover that Heaven is simply where He sits down at our kitchen table and enjoys a meal with us forever in that place inside of us which only He can prepare!